God of new life, In these Easter days the wonder of the Risen Christ is close. Walking in the budding woods, resurrection is everywhere, the heart-song of the wild daffodil’s golden center, the magnolia’s blushed cup, the downy new leaf and the rippling brook. It is clear that life-death-life is the pattern at the center […]
After Notre Dame Burned: A Holy Week Prayer for Sacred Places Under Threat (April 18, 2019)
Holy One, As Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France burned this week, so many millions of us were bound together in heartbreak. As Notre Dame emerged damaged but not fully destroyed, so many millions were bound together in hope. As we consider Paris and Notre Dame, we pray for fulfilling and fruitful work of healing and […]
It Seems Very Odd, Lord: Prayers for Cape Town’s Drought, Parkland, and a Week of Crashes (February 15, 2018)
It seems very odd, Lord, that people call for January to be a month to try being vegan when Lent was a period, 40 days, in the time before world trade hit our food markets when it was a necessity. We pray for those to whom being vegan is not a life style choice […]
So Much We Fail to Understand: Barcelona, Sierra Leone’s Mudslides, and Egypt’s Train Crash (August 17, 2017)
We lift this prayer, written from the ancestral home of the llini, Miami, Shawnee, Dakota Sioux, Chickasaw, Winnebago, Delaware, Kickapoo, Ottawa, Potawatomi, Huron-Wyandot, and Sac-Fox tribes with full respect for their creativity and courage. We lift this prayer that will be read within many other geographic and cultural contexts with full respect for the various ways you have inspired […]
Fruit of the Spirit: Prayers for 20 Million Facing Hunger and for Those Who Help (July 20, 2017)
“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!” ~ Galatians 5:22-23 (NLT) Heavenly Father, we come before you – worn, weary, and hungry for the fruit of the Holy Spirit to fill out hearts and […]
Roll Away the Stones: Prayers After the Aleppo Bus Bombing and for Refugees at Sea (April 20, 2017)
“According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” 1 Peter 1.3 Lord, giver of life, let us live our lives to the full, with humility, care and compassion and in your Son’s image. Let us forgive where […]
Teach Us to Pray Thoughtfully: The South Sudan Famine, the Armyworm, and Cyclone Alfred (February 23, 2017)
This week, Girl Guides and Girl Scouts from 146 countries celebrated World Thinking Day. Lord, we pray that all members of the various uniformed organisations will remember these years as time of enjoyment, friendship and enlightenment. We pray that their leaders will not abuse in any way the power and trust placed in them, but […]
Love Never Fails: Prayers for Stranded Whales in New Zealand, the Oroville Dam, and Lahore (February 16, 2017)
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always […]
We Thirst for You: Advent Prayers After the Colombia Plane Crash and Tropical Storm Otto (December 28, 2016)
O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will […]
Guide Us in Truth and Love: Prayers for Mosul, Standing Rock, and a Divided America (December 28, 2016)
On Sunday after Sunday in our worship we sing: Worthy is Christ, the Lamb who was slain, Whose blood set us free to be people of God. Power and riches, wisdom and strength, And honor and blessing and glory are his. And with these words in mind this day, we pray […]